Finland’s NATO membership will force ‘countermeasures’ from Moscow: Kremlin
ISTANBUL (AA) – Finland’s NATO membership will force Moscow to take countermeasures, the Kremlin has warned.
“The Kremlin believes that this is another aggravation of the situation, that NATO expansion is an encroachment on our security, the interests of the Russian Federation. This is exactly how we perceive it. We will take countermeasures to ensure our own tactical and strategic security,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a press briefing on Tuesday.
Peskov said the countermeasures that Moscow “deems necessary” will be taken.
“Believe me, our military will inform us about everything in a timely manner … We will carefully observe what happens in Finland, how the North Atlantic bloc will exploit the territories in Finland in terms of placing weapons, systems, and infrastructure that will be close to our borders and potentially threaten us. Depending on this, measures will be taken,” he said.
As Finland joins NATO with its 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) frontier with neighboring Russia, NATO’s border with Russia is being roughly doubled.
‘Lost its special voice’
Separately, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that NATO has taken another step closer to the country, and that the situation in northern Europe has changed radically.
The statement said that Finland’s policy of military non-alignment before last year was “a conscious choice” taken by Finnish leaders after World War II that showed “wisdom.”
“By joining NATO, Finland finally renounced its self-identity and any independence, which has distinguished it in international affairs for decades … Finland has become one of the small, undecided member countries of the alliance, having lost its special voice in international affairs,” the statement said.
“We are convinced that history will judge this hasty step taken by the authorities of this country without due regard for public opinion by organizing a referendum and carefully analyzing the consequences of NATO membership. Finland’s accession to NATO cannot but have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish bilateral relations,” the statement concluded.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that Finland will become a full-fledged member of the alliance, with its flag raised at NATO headquarters.
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